


Would, Could, and Should

by Ldrmaslaz248



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: BeetleClones, Beetlejuice Has Mood Ring Hair (Beetlejuice), Clones, F/M, Movie Refereneces, Musical References, Musicalbabes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27297085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ldrmaslaz248/pseuds/Ldrmaslaz248
Summary: Nightmares plague Lydia Deetz as she and the Deetz-Maitland household deal with the aftermath of what has happened. A year has passed. The nightmares worsen. The Ghost with the Most returns.
Relationships: Beetlejuice/Lydia Deetz
Comments: 12
Kudos: 44





	Would, Could, and Should

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is my first Beetlejuice fanfic and I made sure to finish it so I would not give you an uncompleted work. I still didn't write everything I wanted to but this is still a completed work and I am quite proud of it.  
> MAJOR THANK YOU goes to SMOL-LYDIA over on Tumblr who was my Beta for this story! This would not have been finished if it wasn't for her.  
> Also this work is very VERY heavily inspired by the work of LadyStrangeandUnusual!  
> Her works of In the Spectre's Shadow, Just Friends, and Lazy Day were my muse and what I used as references. Please go check out her work!  
> I hope you all enjoy!  
> For right now before reading I just want to say when you first see "Juno" it's written that way for a reason. It will be explained as the story goes. OH and also smoking will not be in this story. I know that is Beetle's big thing but smoking brings me and my family bad memories so I don't include it in my writing.  
> Anyway enjoy and see the ending for more notes.

She knew she would dream about what had happened.

Despite being strange and unusual, she wasn’t stupid. She was well aware that visions would haunt her after what had gone down. It had been a little over a year, but she still thought about it all the time.

She couldn’t escape the nightmares but she didn’t let her family know how much sleep she was losing.

Her family could see it though. They could see the dark circles that slowly over time became permanent residents under her eyes. They could see the extra cans of caffeinated drinks in their recycling bins. They saw it all and desperately wanted to help. They offered all kinds of solutions. If she wanted to see someone, if she wanted to talk about it, if it was maybe best if they moved again but she always said no.

The only thing was the dreams, so if that was all that she had to deal with after the adventure they all had then she convinced herself that she would be alright. She would deal with the hallucinations by herself.

They would pass.

She was convinced she could do it. That was until the dreams began to change. They used to just be about mainly Junno and the endless abyss, but they took a turn lately. They weren’t just dreams anymore.  
They had gotten darker.

She hadn’t prepared herself to deal with full blown night terrors.

~

Delia paced the kitchen, becoming more frustrated the more steps she took. She just didn’t understand what was with her. She had looked into the refrigerator three times and the pantry at least four times.

She still didn’t have anything in her hands.

She felt hungry but nothing caught her attention to snack on. It was 3 am and she should be asleep. She had woken up hungry, but when she arrived in the kitchen she couldn't find anything she wanted, despite the hunger pangs.

When she had arrived at the kitchen the feeling remained and yet she didn’t want anything. She fiddled with the crystal pendant around her neck and took in a deep breath. Maybe if she took a second to listen to her crystals, she would understand what was going on.

It was then that she felt a chill.

The sensation was like she was being hugged from behind. An otherworldly coldness soared down from the top of her head to her tips of her bare heels. She had gotten hugs from Barbara but this felt different.

Was it another ghost?

She knew that she should be frightened, but after everything they had been through, it took more than an unexplained chill to rattle her. There were beings like …him, that could hurt them but also there were beings like Barbara and Adam that just wanted to exist as best as they could.

She looked over her shoulder but as she suspected nothing was there. Was it still a ghost but she just couldn’t see them? Should she call for Barbara and Adam? Would they be able to help?

Whatever it was she felt, it wrapped itself around her wrist as if it wanted to drag her back to the stairs. What now? Did the presence bring her downstairs just to bring her back up?

She followed the tug and went up the stairs. It became a tad more clear as where it was steering her once they passed the second floor to the third. There was only one room up there.

“Lydia?” Delia questioned out loud. She bolted up the stairs, probably past whatever was leading her, and hoped that Lydia was okay. She was just about to see the door to Lydia’s room when a scream echoed through the hallway, probably throughout the whole house.

“BEETLEJUICE!”

“Lydia!” Delia shouted as she practically fell into the room but paused after she crossed and held onto the threshold to keep from falling into the dark space.

Lydia was sitting up in her bed clutching a pillow to her chest. She was using the cushion to smother the wails that she couldn’t hold back. It also soaked up the tears that streamed down her face. Lyds suddenly felt arms around her and she cried out. She thrashed to get away from the touch but a voice reached her ears instantly calming her.

“Shhh, Lydia, it’s me. It’s just me. It’s okay. Easy, Hon. Easy!” Delia talked loudly so that Lydia would hear her and recognize her voice. The poor, terrified girl pushed Delia away; in her half-awake daze she probably thought her step-mom was attacking her. Delia could handle her, though. She was still able to hold onto the girl and bring her closer, hugging the teen and stroking her hair.

When she felt the young woman hug her back, she sighed in relief. Lydia had recognized Delia’s unique cinnamon scent and wrapped her arms around the older woman. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, but at the same time she didn’t want to be alone. Delia was better than the others. She wouldn't judge, like her father or the Maitland’s might, and she knew better than to ask a million and one prying questions.

As she felt Delia’s hand slow and still in her black locks, she knew at least one question was about to slip from the retired life coach’s lips. Delia could feel Lydia tense in her arms so instead she sighed out and gently moved back so that they may look at each other.

“Do you…do you want to talk about it?” Delia asked but wasn’t surprised when Lydia immediately shook her head. She was surprised that Lydia immediately moved back against her. The frightened goth teen wrapped her arms around Delia’s neck and her sobbing started anew. She wept into Delia’s shoulder and her body shook like a leaf.

“Okay…” Delia started before she readjusted her position so that she could completely hold Lydia against her, cradling the girl in a protective embrace. They stayed like that for a long time until Lydia finally pulled back. She remained close enough to have Delia’s comforting arm over her shoulder while rubbing consoling circles into her upper arm.

“Why….” Lydia choked as she cleared her sore throat. An intense crying session always left her mouth dry which didn’t make it easy to talk.

“Did I wake you?”

“Oh no, sweetie, I was up. It was the strangest thing. So I woke up wanting food but when I got to the kitchen nothing was appetizing. Then suddenly I felt this chill all over me! It was like something was hugging me from behind. I thought it was Barbara but it wasn’t her. I could feel something there but couldn’t see a thing.

Whatever it was then started taking me up the stairs all the way up. I was right outside your door when you yelled. I guess whatever it was, it was worried about you.” Delia explained only to then start pivoting her neck to look around the room.

Was whatever had been leading her here in the room with them right this instance?

Lydia did the same and started looking around the room. Delia and her father could see Barbara and Adam now, thankfully, but they still had trouble seeing other ghosts. It wouldn’t do much good to look around the room because it was still so dark but it couldn’t hurt to look.

“Nothing’s here, nothing that I can see at least.” Lydia reassured the redhead. As far as she was concerned, it was just the two of them.

“You know, I bet it was Dead Mom.”

Delia snapped to her in surprise. Lydia lightly smiled before leaning against Delia once again, resting her head in the crock of Delia’s shoulder. The redhead adjusted her arm so that it was now draped on the younger girl’s hip.

“You think so?”

“Why not? Just because she doesn’t wanna be seen doesn’t mean she isn’t here with us.”

“Well, thank gawd, I could really use all the help I can get.”

“I’m that bad, huh?” Lydia finally chuckled which Delia couldn’t help but smile at.

“Well, you can be stubborn, but I can be that too, so nah, you’re fine. I...I just never really been a mothering figure. I mean even my own mother didn’t want me…” Delia paused as she realized what she just admitted. She must have been so tired because this wasn’t something she usually talked about. Lydia was now looking up at her, thankfully not in pity, but in simple curiosity. She wouldn’t push the subject but would listen without judgement.

Delia sighed as she reached up and eased back black strands from Lydia’s sweaty cheek to tuck them behind her ear.

“Yeah, my mom left me at an orphanage. I don’t remember her. The people running the place took care of us, sure, but didn’t parent us, ya know? So I’ve always had to take care of myself. Stand up for myself, ha, we all saw how that ended up.” Delia shrugged as if that could make her worthless past just disappear.

She didn’t need to say it. Being alone and raising herself led her to being even more alone as her ex ran off with another man, a dead cat, then right into the arms of Ot-no Kevin, the infamous scam artist.

“I think you're doing a good job.” Lydia confessed as she sincerely looked up to the woman besides her.

“Really?”

“Well yeah, sure I’m happy having Barbara around, but I’m also happy that you're here too. I mean let’s be honest in a few years am I really going to talk to Barbara about having sex with guys and maybe even girls?” This time it was Delia to chuckle and Lydia to answer with a small smile.

They both knew the answer to that. When Lydia felt comfortable exploring that sensitive subject, she certainly couldn’t go to Charles. The included Adam and sure, Barbara could cover the basics, but out of all four Delia was the one she should talk to.

That demon had outed Delia as the one with most involvement when it came to sexual activities, but he hadn’t been wrong either. She did have the most experience but she also knew Lydia wouldn’t judge her for knowing such things. Just as Delia wouldn’t discourage Lydia when she needed to ask questions pertaining to the topic.

Delia didn’t criticize her for a lot of things she thought on a daily basis, which is why Lydia could admit it was the reason she secretly liked the redhead better. Lydia sighed as she looked down at her still trembling hands. It wasn’t as bad as when she first woke up but they were still unsteady. If Delia could open up to her, then she could open even if just a little.

It would be okay.

“I...I keep dreaming of that night…” Lydia started, she could feel Delia’s eyes look back at her, but she kept going. She could sense Delia wanting to say that she didn’t have to talk about it if she didn’t want to, but she continued on. She had to keep talking or she would become too scared to keep going.

“...It started a while ago. I first had dreams of that Junno lady and the abyss. Like being trapped there and that Lady dragging me deeper into the darkness away from you all. It was like that for a while but…” Lydia shuttered as she recalled the nightmares from the last few nights.

“...but it changed to other parts. Of stabbing….stabbing BJ. It would start as it had that night. Sticking the pole in through his back. The scene would just play over and over again as if I was stuck in the scene as an endless loop.

“Then...then it changed. It changed because he was looking right at me as I plunged a pole through his chest. I was in his arms and he would look right in my eyes as the pole went through him. His eyes would be glowing red even after I stabbed him. Like ...he was alive as long as he was in my arms. He would let out a sickening laugh as if I hadn’t just killed him.

“Just now though...it was...it was the worst...the moment...I had stabbed him while he was holding onto me but right after I pierced him ...he looked behind me...he was looking at something behind me and I turned to see what it was….Junno was standing there trying...she was about to bring down the pole through my back…

“But Beet...Bj...he pushed me away. He...the pole went straight through his heart...and he...he fell at my feet. He was de-” Lydia choked on the last word. She only now realized her sobbing had started all over again because she covered her mouth with her hand to silence herself. She could feel her tears under her trembling palm.

Delia eased Lydia back against her chest. The redhead wrapped a hand along Lydia’s neck then the other went across her stomach as if to hug her from behind. Lydia’s unoccupied hand went up and clutched at the upper arm, her nails leaving crescent moons on Delia’s skin.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking about him; her family worried enough as it was. Yet at the same time, he never managed to leave her thoughts. Three days of scarring and making anything that had a pulse scream their lungs out had bonded them as friends.

He got her like no one else did. He understood her love for the strange and unusual, even more than she did. They connected on a level that was even deeper than the connection she had shared with her mother.

She had never laughed as much as she had during those three days. He made her laugh but he also made her feel seen. He understood being invisible as much as she did so they made sure both of them were heard. They were equals. They would work together to come up with plans to make others so scared that their hearts would explode in their own chests.

How could she not think of him now? How could she not miss him?

Then there were the nightmares. She would never want him to die. Sure, she had killed him, but she had known in some way he would still exist after stabbing him in the back. But what that nightmare had made her experience was never something she ever wanted to see again. She didn’t want him to die while he was looking at her as if she was the only person in his whole world that mattered.

How was she supposed to be okay if she had to look at the corpse of her best friend bleeding out at her feet every time she went to sleep?

“Shhh...it’s okay...I’ve got you, Lydia.” Delia's words brought her out of her clouded mind, but she couldn't stop shaking, her sobs echoing in the otherwise quiet room.

Delia held onto the crying girl and stroked her hair as if that would help get rid of the troubling thoughts and images that haunted Lydia. She hadn’t quite understood what she and that...ghost had gone through while they were alone. Barbara and Adam had told her and Charles that they had cowered up in the attic. They couldn’t ignore the screams of the people that Lydia and BJ had scared but, they didn’t have the courage to interfere either. They only watched from the window as the people fled the house one by one.

Lydia only told them basically the same. That the two of them had scared people who came to their door. She didn’t say much else. She had known her family didn’t want her talking about him as if he was her friend. He had saved them but that wasn’t enough for them to forgive him.

Delia was grateful to him though. He had stood up for Lydia against his own family. Against a woman who was a leader in the afterlife as Charles had described her.

“Did you...do you miss him?” Delia asked cautiously as she didn’t know how to approach what she was about to bring up. Lydia pulled away from her embrace.

She turned around so that they were facing each other letting the last of her loud sobs leave her so that only quiet whimpers escaped. Lydia took a second longer wondering if she should just be fully honest. Delia hadn't thought any different of her so far, so why would she now.

“I do…” She nodded with a hitched breath, running her palm against her cheeks to wipe away her tears. “...I know...I know you all don’t want me to think about him but I…”

“No, no...Lydia, look at me.” Delia stopped her and cupped her chin so that their eyes met. “...It’s okay. You can think of him. I think no matter what we want, you’re going to think about him. He certainly only thought about you, so you and him must have really shared something while it was just you and him in the house.”

Lydia paused as she processed what the retired life coach said. He thought about her? “When? How do you know he thought about me?”

Delia took a moment to at least look remorseful about what she just said but then just guilty smiled. “Your father wouldn’t want me saying this, as in don’t tell your father that I said this, but it happened when you and Charles jumped through that door.

“I was ready for that ...thing to ask me to marry him. I think even Barbara was expecting it to happen too because she was clinging to me as if she could protect me from him. But I was instantly ready to say yes. As far as I knew he was a ghost like Barbara and Adam so he could go through that door and get you and Charles.

“If he had asked me, I would have made him bring you both back in exchange to say yes. We all knew he wanted to be human, so I thought he was desperate enough to be alive that he would have instantly asked me next.

“But Lydia, he never even once looked at me. I mean yeah, he chained us all up, but he never once got anywhere close to asking me anything. All he did was talk about you. He went on and on about how he did everything for you. How he went out of his way to make you feel heard and seen. I mean he was muttering a lot of the time so I didn’t catch all of it, but I could tell all he was thinking about was you.

“He kept looking at where the door was, I think he was thinking that you would just walk right back through it. Or maybe he was thinking of going after you, I’m sure it was either one.”

“He wouldn’t have been able to, he was banished from the Netherworld.” Lydia added as she recalled that he had said that.

“Gotcha.” Delia nodded, but then shrugged. “I doubt that would have stopped him though. If I didn’t know any better, he would have probably killed all of us and then gone through the door just to get you back. And if I’m being honest here, I think that demon in his own unique way, I think he really liked you.”

“You think...he...he liked me…?”

“Yeah…” Delia nodded as she tucked black hair behind Lydia’s ear. “...He only had eyes for you so yes, if a demon can even feel things, he definitely felt something awfully deep for you. I’d bet my crystal collection on it. But Lydia, do you...how do you feel about him?”

Lydia couldn’t answer. How could she possibly answer? She knew the unspoken question that Delia was asking her.

Did she love him?

Could she even love him? They only spent three days together. Was that even a significant amount of time to fall in love? It was enough to make a deep friendship that she missed even to this day but was her feelings deeper than even that? Was it the beginnings of love?

“Hey...you don’t have to answer that right now. I know it’s a lot to think about. I think at this moment what we both need is sleep. I’ll tell the others you're sleeping in so don’t worry about coming down for breakfast. Try to get more sleep, okay?”

When the younger girl nodded, Delia smiled and gave her one last hug. She then got up and pulled the black-out curtains closed so that Lydia could hopefully fall back asleep. Then Delia left the room and Lydia was alone. Alone with her new thoughts and the familiar comfort of darkness.

~

She started sleeping outside. It was summer so it was fine weather for doing so. She’d curl up in the alcove where she had first seen Beej. She would just stare up at the stars until her eyes would close.

It helped to be out here.

She didn’t know why sleeping on the outcropping gave her a full night sleep. After being plagued by the dreams for so long, she didn't particularly care either. Her body hated her for it but she couldn’t bring herself to sleep anywhere else.

This was the first time in a long while that she could sleep without seeing that red dressed demon reaching for her from the infinite of nothingness. A sore body was worth it, not that she didn’t try to bring out pillows or blankets to make it more comfortable. It didn’t matter nor did it make it any more bearable to sleep on the slab so she stopped bringing them out.

She crawled out through the window moving to stand near the edge of the roof. She wasn’t going to jump but she smirked as she glanced down at the birdbath in the front yard. It was fun to recall how much BJ had done to keep her from jumping.

Sure, it was all because he needed her to say his name, but that didn’t change the major point. If he hadn’t been up here with her, she would be dead. If it weren’t for him she would have been stuck in the Netherworld waiting her turn to get it through her head that she would never see her mom again.

Dead or alive her mom was gone and she’d just have to live while accepting that. Well, she was living with that. Right after her adventures, her and her dad had gone to therapy. He was the one who had insisted upon it. Lydia got so much from her mother but what she got from him was his Inability to regulate her emotions.

They found Doctor Picani in town and did sessions, both together and separately. It didn’t immediately fix all the problems but it was helping in its own way. She was going less now but the Doc had been really understanding. She had his number if she ever needed to talk.

It was only thanks to Picani that Lydia had been able to look back on her actions and be disgusted with herself. She had only focused on herself during those three days. She had fun when she let Beetlejuice into the house, but she had done it ultimately to make her father see her. Her father wasn’t seeing her pain, her grief of losing her mother. She had used Beej to get her father out of her life, since he didn’t even try to take the chance to understand her despair.

Her longing for her mother didn’t leave and the pain of losing the only other person who saw her was all that mattered. Her grief made her blind and she had lashed out at those who tried to make her see that her mother would never be back in her life. Adam, Barbara and even Beetlejuice. She had hurt those around her deeply and when sitting in Picani’s office she realized how wrong she had been.

Sure, her dad didn’t understand, but she hadn’t tried to acknowledge that he was hurting in his own way. He had only been trying to heal the pain of their loss in his own way, thinking it would help. Then again they all tried to help, even Beetlejuice. He had given her everything and anything she had asked.

Then the one time he didn’t she had done no more than toss him aside like a used tissue. She had claimed to be his friend, only to turn around and do such a terrible thing. Who was the real monster between them? He may have been a demon, but he had feelings, which she had hurt. The guilt that swept over her in that moment of realization had been so overwhelming it had taken the rest of the session for Picani to calm her.

She let out a sigh bringing herself back to the present while wrapping her arms about her body. She looked up in time to see the last glance of the sun disappear over the rolling hills.

“You’ll…” She asked out, hoping in some way he could hear her. “Beej...you’ll come back, right? Can you….Promise me that one day I’ll see you again, Bee...Beetlejuice.”

She hadn’t fully said his name except when waking up from the dreams. Her family hadn’t wanted her to say his full name so she had respected their wishes. But right now she was all alone. They wouldn’t hear her say it.

It felt nice to say his name again. It made her feel warm and brought a smile out of her. The sun was fully gone so she settled upon the perch before looking back up to the sky. The stars were coming out one by one. It was the one nice thing about being in a small town. Low light pollution so every night you could see the stars for miles. Especially his star.

When she had learned about the star named after him in school, she had burst out laughing. Of course the dumb demon dork had a star named after him. He was probably as old as the earth itself so a star named after him wasn’t all that surprising.

Now every night she looked for it and it was usually the last thing she saw before her eyes would droop from exhaustion. It wasn’t the same as seeing his gravity defining green hair and haunting hazel eyes but it would do for now.

“Beetlejuice...Beej…” She smirked as she could practically hear his exasperated whine that she hadn’t finished the three time incantation. Did that even work anymore? Could he even hear her to begin with? If she was being truthful with herself she doubted he was even listening.

“I just want you to know…” She paused as she thought about saying what she wanted to out loud. She wanted to promise the stars that she would see him again.

After she died, would she really feel like searching the Netherworld just to see him again? Would she risk upsetting the bureaucracy of the afterlife in hopes that she could find him and finally offer him the apology he so rightly deserved? Right now, the answer was without a doubt that she would. She would do whatever she could to see him again.

But as time went on, would that answer change? She didn’t know and frankly, she was afraid of the answer.

“Night, BJ.” She settled on saying as she settled down with a loud sigh. The air had a slight chill to it but otherwise it was the perfect temperature that she was out within minutes. Just as she was lost to unconsciousness, a shadow that was illuminated thanks to the full moon fell over her.

~

Beetlejuice had wanted to stay away. Really, he had but the one thing keeping him from staying away was that there was this bratty little breather who lived inside his brain rent free. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to evict her from his maggot filled muscle but nothing worked.

His search for his dad had gone bottoms up, so he had gone back to the Neitherworld. He couldn’t go to the Netherworld because Juno would just scream his ears off for what he had done to Junno, or more so to Shaggoth. That is his mother's real name, and she would return eventually since she was a demon just like him. It’d take a century or two but sooner or later that bitch would either be spit up by the worm or would force her way out.

In the meantime, the real Juno had yelled at him for trying to kill someone who was at the top of the Netherworld food chain.

Juno was so pissed off, she had let him know how much she wanted him dead all over again for the mess he had made. “I’d give up a leg to see that little breather stab you in the back. I’d watch it on repeat for the next millennia and laugh every time!”

Beetlejuice resisted smiling when he heard that. He was sure Juno wasn’t the only one in the Netherworld or the Neitherworld that would pay extraordinary amounts to see what his BFFFF had done to him. Lydia would be the wealthiest breather ever.

Speaking of her, the point was that he tried to leave Lydia be. She at least deserved that after all he had done. He had gotten away from Juno's screeching voice at the first chance he could, only to return to the one place he knew that would accept him. It was called the Roadhouse and it was an abstract blue building in a forgotten corner of this universe. He remembered he had two “friends” living with him before his banishment but when he walked back into the place they weren’t around so they must have moved on.

He took to walking around the endless Neitherworld and it helped him come to realize something. All Lydia had wanted to do was just try to get back the one person who saw her. She had yelled that when they had been in her house, but he didn’t get it back then. He didn’t understand throwing her life away to find someone who made her feel seen and like she actually mattered.

He only now got it because that was how he felt.

If he had found out that she was in the Netherworld, whether he was dead or alive, he would have done anything to get her back. He would have jumped through that green glowing door too. He would have torn the afterlife apart to make sure she was out of that never ending darkness.

He was staying away because she didn’t deserve to be stuck with him. She didn’t deserve to be bound to someone who practically ruined her life. She shouldn’t have to look at the monster who tortured her own dead and undead family just to keep her by his side.

But she was bound to his side. Whether he was in the world of the dead or not, they were married.

That was what Juno had wailed on him for the most. That he had made that little breather’s life nothing but a doomed existence. That scared dressed in black child who stood up against all the bureaucracy of hell was cursed the moment he had made her say I do.

Nothing could change their now tied souls. Nothing could undo it. He had messed with magic that was older than creation itself and practically damned her despite it just being for a green card.

Beetlejuice wasn’t one to feel remorseful, which he didn’t feel at all. Or at least he lied to himself saying that he didn’t. He didn’t even know if a creature such as himself could actually feel such a thing. He barely remembered what he had felt for the brief moment he had been alive and he was sure remorseful hadn’t been among the list.

Now did the black hole where his heart should be sting every time he thought that what went down between them could have gone better? The answer was always yes. Because to him, Lydia was special. She deserved the apologetic feelings that radiated off his full being.

Then even though he was sorry and trying to mourn as penance, his non-beating heart stung for another reason. It stung every time he thought of her because he longed for her. He wanted her back in his arms and this time to never let her go until the end of time itself.

No matter what he came in contact with in the Neitherworld, it never compared to being around the one person in the whole world that he had actually made a connection with. The one person who made him feel seen, who got him on a level he never thought anyone else ever would. The one person who made him feel things without a gasp of air in his lungs.

He couldn’t stay away. He couldn’t face another moment of not being around Lydia Deetz. It was just wasted time, and even though he was slightly afraid of what awaited him, he refused to let another second tick by.

Finding a pass through to the land of the living was easier than when he had been forced through an opening at the beginning of his banishment. It had even opened right where he needed to be. He had appeared on a random street of the town of Winter River. He looked up and just as he knew it would be, there it was. The creepiest looking house of the town, the house where she would be.

He took one step forward only to take one step back. He had to be careful this time around. All the residents of the house could see him this time. He didn’t want them seeing him and warning his lady of his return. The first one that was going to see him was going to be Lydia and that was only when he was ready for it.

As he walked forward this time with each step he became transparent, ghost powers for the win. He walked right through the front door pausing as he came into the main living room. It seemed that Red and Barbara had made a compromise on the design of the space. It still wasn’t his style but it wasn’t necessarily bad either. He wasn’t here for the ambiance though, he was here for something special.

Someone special.

He continued up the stairs, his nonphysical feet not making a single sound to wake the sleeping house. As he came into Lydia’s room he instantly took notice that she wasn’t in her bed. Well that was strange but not unusual enough to deter him from finding her. There was only one other place she could be.

He turned to the roof window with a sly grin.

He expected her to be awake. He expected that he would step out and she would be sitting on the roof stargazing or whatever it was that breathers do at night. What he did see was a surprise. She was laid out upon the step in front of the chimney, sleeping as peacefully as the dead.

Why was she sleeping out here? More importantly why was she sleeping in his spot? Was there a reason? Could he bring himself to hope that finding her like this meant she missed him as much as he missed her?

Or was he nothing but a fool to believe such things?

He sat down in front of her not really knowing what he should do. Should he wake her? One of his demonic powers was that he could see in the dark so he took notice of the bags under her eyes. How long had she been like this? Or even the bigger question now, how long had he been gone?

It had to have been at least a while ‘cause he could see she had changed. It wasn't much but he could tell that her hair was longer and her cheeks were more defined. Then there was the whole thing that, even with the bags below her lower lids, she looked happier, lighter as if a weight was no longer burdening her.

She looked beautiful.

She was always beautiful, even when he had first seen her pass through that window to climb out onto the roof alcove.

The question no longer was should he touch her. He had to touch because right now he was yearning to feel her skin under his grimy black painted fingertips. He needed to feel her living warmth against his chilled flesh.

But could he touch her was the question. Last time he was on this side of the veil, he couldn’t affect the world of the living. He wasn’t able to touch anything ‘cause his hands would just go through them, even people. Was he back to that state after everything that happened?

He braced himself for disappointment as he reached up, letting just a finger be the tester. He held his metaphorical breath as his striped covered arm reached out for her. His finger scarcely touched her cheek, but it had all the same, and a smile split his face in half as it did. He quickly took his hand back because he didn’t want to wake her but a weight was off his chest.

He didn’t have to have his name said to be able to mess with her. That opened up a whole jar of other questions, ones that he would have to remember and come back to another time. He was just thankful that no matter what he could reach out and touch her whenever he wanted to now.

He stood up and began to unbutton his jacket. He smiled down at her as the heavy clothing left his back and he shook it out. Beetle then draped the jacket over his girl as gently as he could. She didn’t wake up but she clutched at the fabric now covering her and snuggled her face into the collar.

Instead of sitting back down, he laid down besides the slab of stone in the perfect position to be able to look up into her eyes when she woke up. The dead didn’t need sleep but they could fall into an unclear state between being unconscious and awake. He could do that while he waited for whenever she would arouse.

~

 _“You smell awful.”_ She had said that the last time she had been standing besides the demon. She couldn’t help but laugh about it now. She had lived with him for three whole days and she actually hadn’t been bothered by his smell.

She chalked it up to blaming the sand worm. Being on the sand worm and digging around in the sand to find the creature would make anyone stink. She remembered what he actually smelled like, recalling it because she had weirdly enough liked it alot.

His smell was an odd combination of damp soil, decaying leaves and a graveyard after a rainstorm.

She remembered it because when they were in the house he sat besides her while she slept. He would work on coming up with a thousand and one pranks they could pull when she woke back up. He was always close enough that his scent would envelope her. She felt safe when breathing in the strange and unusual smell.

Just like now, she could smell it again. She felt warm and the smell was invading her sleeping senses. Lydia thought it was just a trick of her dreams. This had to be her traitorous mind making her believe that she was back with just him and her in the house and when she woke up they would be terrorizing more people who rang the doorbell.

As the unconsciousness of sleep fell from her though, the scent didn’t leave her. It stayed and she deeply inhaled as she opened her eyes.

Stripes. The first thing she saw was stripes. She quickly sat up and caught the jacket before it could fall off of her. If it wasn’t as obvious that it was the demon’s by those obnoxious ratty stripes alone, it was when she breathed in the scent wafting off the collar. She knew it was BJ’s, it just had to be.

“Beetlejuice?” Lydia asked out as she began to look around. He wouldn’t just leave his jacket. Would he? No, he wouldn’t come all this way and just leave his jacket for her to find.

“Beetlejuice…” She started looking above her to the slope of the roof. It was still dark out so she could barely see but she had to try. If he was still around he would be close wouldn’t he? He was a showman; he loved making an elaborate entrance. So where was he?

“Beetle-”

“Careful, Lyds, you really wanna let me out without saying hello first?”

Beetlejuice had opened his eyes to see his dear friend clinging to his jacket. She had started looking around her, calling out his name to the open blackness surrounding them. It was adorable to watch her trying to find him.

She was just so lost in what she was doing that she probably didn’t realize what she was about to release, so he had spoken up. It was okay. They had time for her to let him out, but for right now it wasn’t necessary.

“BJ.” Lydia sighed out as she finally looked down and there he was.

He was lying beside the outcropping, looking up at her like a cat that swallowed a canary then was given cream as a bonus. His hazel eyes were practically glowing as they were gazing at her alone. She couldn't help but smile at the sight, though it quickly fell away to a more somber expression.

Moving along the perch, she stood up to walk away from him. A smile crept onto his own face as he noticed that she took the time to keep the jacket on her shoulders as she got to her feet. He stood up himself, brushing off his arms just so his hands didn’t reach out for her.

He didn’t have to worry about controlling his hands for long because Lydia was instantly back into his personal space to pull him into her arms.

The jacket fell to the roof as her arms came up to wrap around his neck. She had to get on her tiptoes to reach but she still settled her chin on his shoulder. It took him a moment to realize what was happening but as he felt her warmth against his chest, he relaxed. Beetlejuice wrapped his own arms around her, holding her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

He hadn’t wanted to hope for this. He wasn’t stupid. He knew they didn’t part from each other on the best terms, so he would have never had thought that she would be willing to embrace him when they saw each other again. But here she was clinging to him, just as she had done to his jacket that was now at their feet.

It was his turn to breath in her scent and a smirk broke his face as he took hers in. She smelt like the burnt marshmallows she would top her hot chocolate with and enjoy drinking after they had been scaring people all day. She may have changed in some features but she at least smelled the same.

She took her time to pull back but when she did, he let her, following her example to let her have space to breathe. She didn’t let him move too far away, only an arm’s length. If he was out of reach, he could have a chance to leave her again.

He wasn’t going to move but he didn’t have to voice that she had nothing to worry about either. It definitely stroked his ego to see her so anxious that if she blinked a second too long that he would be gone and be out of her life all over again.

“Where…” Lydia didn’t know how to start but she settled with the easiest question out of the tons she had for him. “Where have you been?”

“Hmm…” Beetlejuice sighed as he slid a hand into his pocket while his other ruffled the black stained hair at the nape of his neck. “...Well, that depends how long you got?”

“I see, well…” She nodded in understanding before turning away from him. She bent down to pick up his jacket, feeling his eyes follow her backside as she moved down. Still the same creepy old guy but she could let him have this one look. She then walked over to the window that led into her room. “...come on then.”

“Are ya sure?” He asked in outright disbelief. Out of all the things he thought of how this was going to go when he came back, her letting him into her room was nowhere near the top three. He watched as she opened the window sash before pausing at his question. She looked back at him with a nod.

“Yeah, if it's that long of a story, we might as well talk inside.”

He followed her inside without further prompting and they both stood awkwardly in the middle of the space. She passed his jacket back to him before she stretched to try and ease the tension out of her lower back. He appreciated the view of the sleep shirt riding up her ribs showing off her pale skin. As he put his jacket back on, he tried to break the conversation ice.

“Before we get too deep into my depressing tale, why don’t you tell me why you're sleeping out there? Especially when you got this monstrosity taking up half the room.” He joked as he indicated the queen bed besides them.

Charles certainly didn’t skimp out of getting his daughter the most luxurious bed money could buy. It had been his way of trying to butter her up when they had first moved into the Maitland’s house.

Beetlejuice’s eyes didn’t miss the frightened look his girl shot to the innocent mattress as if it had physically attacked her. She quickly looked away from the piece of furniture and folded her arms as if to hug herself. She had to take a second to figure out what to say.

Should she just be outright honest and tell him about the nightmares?

“I just haven't been able to sleep...there.” She settled on saying as she continued to look all around the room never letting her eyes fall on her bed. She knew what she had said wouldn’t even begin to tamper his curiosity so she deeply sighed and continued “...besides it’s not that bad out there. It’s summer so the temperature is kinda perfect.”

He was about to respond when Lydia suddenly yawned into a closed fist that she brought up to her mouth. An exhausted smile came to her lips as she rubbed at her eyes before pushing her lengthy bangs from her face. She didn’t sit on the bed but she leaned against one of the posters and sighed.

“Man, what I wouldn’t give for a coffee right now.”

“Well go get one,” He chuckled mirthlessly and shrugged, “it’s not as if I’m going anywhere, Babes. I can wait for ya.”

She shook her head before putting it back against the poster behind her. “Don’t wanna wake the others. The stairs are too squeaky, everyone would hear me the moment I opened my door.”

“Ah, right, well next best thing then.” He remarked before flicking his wrist and right besides him appeared one of his clones. The clone immediately waved at her and she couldn’t help giggling as she waved back.

“You heard the Misses, coffee with…” He paused and then two set of hazel eyes were upon her. It took a lot of Lydia’s self control to not blush from their expected stare.

“Um...just black and three sugars.” She smiled before she realized something, “Oh and there's a cake in the fridge too. It’s purple, you can’t miss it, but a slice of that would be great too.”

“Whatever the ladyship wishes and if you get caught don’t even bother coming back.” Beetlejuice threatened himself to which the clone simply saluted and then sank down through the floor. The goth girl across from him released a loud chuckle once the clone was out of sight.

“He should be okay. It’s the weekend and only…” She looked across her room at the clock she had on her dresser. “...five am. Dad and Delia won’t be up til at least 9ish and Adam and Barbara won’t come downstairs until 830 at the latest, so we’ve got time.”

“Speaking of time, Lyds, you were telling me how long you’ve been sleeping on the roof.” The demon scoffed as he brought the subject back up. He knew he was pushing but, he wanted to know the answer.

There had to be a reason that she was choosing to sleep in his spot over a comfy bed and the curiosity of the situation was slowly ebbing away at him. His cursed little bride rolled her eyes and huffed out loud. Of course Beetlejuice would push this until he got what he was looking for in an answer. They both shared that streak of stubbornness.

“Yeah no, I dropped the subject just like you should. Besides it’s not a big deal and a sore back is a small price to pay for seven hours of sleep. Or almost seven hours when there isn’t a bloated zebra watching me sleep like a creep.”

“Oh Babes, you flatter me but…” He laughed at her teasing insult then with a finger snap his jacket was back on her bed and he began to roll up his sleeves. He sent her a cunning smirk as he loudly cracked his knuckles. “...you just said the magic words. Now turn around.”

“Wait, what!” She shot back and was instantly standing straight before jerking a step back from him. She had forgotten that the poster of her bed frame was behind her so now she was flush against it as he came closer to her.

“You heard me, Babes. What, don’t you trust me?” Beetlejuice replied as he didn’t necessarily crowd her against the furniture but if he got any closer, he would have.

“Not as far as I can throw you.” She admitted without hesitation.

There was a slight pause of acknowledging what she just said then they both shared a laugh. He then nodded in understanding but a loving smile curled his lips at seeing Lydia laughing just as she had before everything happened.

It was nice to know that they could fall back into this state. The friendship with them teasing each other, throwing quips, non-malice insults, everything.

“Yeah, I get it, but seriously Lydia do you trust me to not hurt ya?” _‘At least not again.’_

Even with what was unspoken, the room seemed to fall into a setting of intense feelings and time seemed to stop, like they were all that was left in this expansive universe. Not even when the clone finally returned and set the items on the night table then with a flick of BJ’s wrist was gone in a puff of smoke, did the demon and girl look away from each other. The question held so much, and struck them both in different ways.

This was his own way of asking if she had forgiven him. He had saved her from his own flesh and blood, made a promise that if any force from the Netherworld tried to touch her ever again then there would be hell to pay. He even then left her so that she could have a life, but that didn’t make up for the other shit he had done.

Conning her into nearly exorcising Barbara, almost killing her step mom in blind rage, torturing her two dads just so they kept their lips shut as they all waited for her to accept his hand in a forced marriage. Could she even begin to forgive what he had done? More importantly could she forgive him?

He knew he would never deserve her forgiveness but would he feel better knowing that she had? He could only hope especially since he was about to find out for himself. Beetlejuice remained quiet to let her answer though he was stewing in uncontrollable fear of what her response might be.

And though Lydia wanted to take a second to think about it, wanting to hold onto this moment of power for just a few seconds longer, she didn’t do it. Her answer, her possible rejection of him was something that scared him to death and only she could hold that fear over him. But the thing was that she feared the same. She feared that him only returning now was his sign of him saying that he didn’t feel the same. He had kept her waiting but she couldn’t bring herself to do the same to him.

She found herself instantly reciting what she had said the day she was in the red wedding dress. The same monstrosity of a gown that was still secretly hanging in her closet. “I do.”

She had said it without uncertainty because in some unknown and mysterious way, it was the truth. She did trust him. She trusted him, missed him, and ...loved him. Her breath caught in her throat as the realization poured over her mind, body and soul. Tears threatened to fill her eyes but she kept them at bay so that to not worry the ghost with the most across from her.

Satan below damn her, she loved this demon. She was in love with him.

“Good to hear, now…” Beetlejuice chuckled away his metaphorical sigh of relief, which brought Lydia out of her thoughts and back to their conversation. “...are you going to turn around or what?”

Lydia first came back to the present, tampering down her thoughts and feelings. She took a second longer to search his eyes seeing if she could find an answer on what he was planning to do. When she couldn’t find even a lick of anything she sighed loudly with a roll of her eyes.

“Fine, but I’m going to complain about it the whole time.” She grumbled as she turned to face the bed. Beej laughed as he sent her a cunning smirk that she couldn’t see.

“Fair enough, especially since I’m going to do this.” With another snap of his fingers her shirt was gone from her and Lydia gasped. She looked down to see that her shirt was truly gone even though she was still covered with her black colored bra. Her cheeks instantly went from her pale complexion to bright red inflamed.

“Hey! Beetleju-”

“Ah-Ah, calm down, Lyds.” Beetlejuice grinned before he had laid his hands on her shoulders to keep her from turning back towards him. He was sure she would have smacked him if he gave her the chance to face him.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I ain’t going to look, alright?” They both knew that was a lie because he had already snuck some peeks over her shoulder. He did finally take a small step back but was still close enough to hold onto her. He focused on her neck and kept his hands upon her shoulders to keep her in place. “This will be better if I have skin to skin contact so that’s why no shirts allowed.”

Lydia had brought up her arms to cover over her chest and tensed as she felt his chilled hands upon her upper back. She held back a shudder from his touch though her face stayed in a frown. She should have known something like this was going to happen. He was a sexual being or as he had said a ‘highly’ sexual being. But she also thought if this ever did happen that he would make it a little worse.

They didn’t touch each other in that way when they had shared the house. There had been the occasional brush of hands or they sat together on the couch as they binged horror movies. But she knew that he was able to be a sexual pervert because the Maitland’s had told her about what he had done when they first met. She wasn’t stupid; she was sure he probably thought about what he could do to her to bring her to the heights of pleasure. The truth was that she thought about it too. What would it be like to share something that intimate with the ghost with the most?

Her thoughts came back to what was happening in the right now as his hands squeezed her shoulders again and he took in a deep metaphorical breath. Beetlejuice moved his hands so that his palms were just over where her deltoids should be located. He didn’t necessarily know how to do what he was hoping to do but it couldn’t hurt to try. She already said that he trusted him so he had to help in whatever way he could.

“Okay, let’s see…” Beetlejuice closed his eyes and let his magic flow into her skin. He tried to control his juice to let it travel along her blood vessels going from the base of her neck to the lower back. She immediately tensed as his powers entered her and when he felt it, he growled into her ear in a low undertone.

“Babes, you can’t tense up like that. Calm down, take a breath…” He instructed as he waited for her to relax under his fingers. Lydia took in the deep breath as instructed and even moved her arms away from her chest. She could feel his magic crawling under her skin, and it had her freaked out. She just took a moment to remember he wouldn’t hurt her and that he was only helping in his own way. She grabbed onto the poster so that all the tension that she was in her body could be transferred into her grip.

“Like…” She started to ask but her voice was barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. “...like that? Is that okay?”

“Good, girl…” He praised as he felt the tension leave her posterior and he risked getting that much closer to her. He only took a second to appreciate being in her personal space before he focused again on what he was doing.

He hadn’t really done anything like this before. The first time he had possessed a human was when he had made the people that they had scared dance. He had possessed plenty of ghosts before, but he hadn’t had the chance to do it to a human before then. He didn’t want to fully possess her because he felt they should at least talk about that before he did it.

“BJ, you gotta…” Lydia suddenly murmured as her nails dug into the wood of the furniture. “...you gotta tell me what you're doing. It feels weird.”

“Not hurting ya, am I?” He asked as he paused his hands to look at her raven locks.

“No, not at all. It’s just…a strange feeling.” She replied as she thought about the best way to describe what he could be doing to her.

“I bet…” He chuckled as he moved one hand to her hip only to move the other to where her neck met her spine.

“Think of it as a massage without me moving my hands. I’m basically letting my powers do the work that a breather’s hand would have to do. My powers can’t necessarily heal as far as I know but I think I can relax the muscles and increase the blood flow so they can heal themselves. Which anything is better at this point ‘cause no offense Lyds, but your back is a mess. I could probably use a jack hammer on it if I wanted to. “

The hand that was at her neck went slowly down her spine settling where her sleep bottoms started. He then fanned out his hands on either side of the line down her back and paused.

“Let me see if this…” He forced his magic from his fingertips to soar all the way to where her trapezius muscles began. Lydia fully shuddered as she could feel his powers skyrocket under her skin and she now squeezed the poster just to stay standing. Whatever this black magic was it felt unworldly, not necessarily in a bad way but at the same time it was too much. She was going to-

“Whoa!” She could only hear him exclaim because her eyes had closed as she fainted. She felt his arm incircle her waist and his other hand was at her upper arm to steady her.

“Too much, that was too much. Come on, up you go.” He picked her up in his arms and settled her on the bed. He knew she might not like it but right now she would have to get over it. He was not about to let her lay down on the cold floor.

He materialized a chair to appear next to her bed and sat in it. He didn’t want to assume he could sit beside her so he figured the chair was the safest bet for now. Beetlejuice could only assume that her exhaustion from sleeping outside and the intensity of his magic had been too much for her. He still didn’t know why she was even sleeping out there to begin with but there had to be some deep reason for her.

He hesitated then reached out and moved the hair that had fallen in front of her face to behind her ear.

“What’s going on, Lyds? Will you ever tell me?”

~

“Hey, you okay?” He asked as he took notice that she was waking back up. He figured she would only be out for a while. She wasn’t used to his powers so he was surprised she wasn’t out for longer.

“How long was I out?” Lydia asked as she slowly tested her limbs to see how it felt to move. She hadn’t felt this good in so long, it was just as he had said. She felt like she had right after a massage, like the ones she and her mom used to get together. That mix state between content and bone tired made her feel relaxed in a way she hadn’t since before even moving to Connecticut.

“Only a few hours, sorry about that Babes, my juice was a little too much for ya. Here,” Beetlejuice passed her her coffee mug, making sure she could hold onto the cup before taking back his hand. “...drink up, it’ll give you some energy back.”

“Thanks…” She sat up against the headboard and drank from the cup. She smiled as it was still warm which had to be because of the demon besides her. “...and you don’t need to apologize. That actually felt really good. How did you know...where did you learn to do that?”

“When you’ve been banished among breathers as long as I have, you learn all sorts of stuff.” He chuckled as he placed his arm on the bed to prop his head against his closed fist. He watched her take a few more sips of her drink then reach for the food and start eating. It was just then that he realized the food looked like a birthday cake.

“Did I miss a party while I was gone?”

“Yeah…” It was Lydia’s turn to chuckle as she cleared the plate of the purple pastry. She swallowed and then sent him a smile that was innocent but also a tad sad. “...you missed mine.”

“No joke?”

“Yep. It’s funny really, you left right before my birthday and came back right after it.” Only a week later after he left, she turned eighteen and she never admitted to her family but she had secretly wished he would come back. Then this past birthday she had wished again and even though he was fashionably late he had still come back. Finally, after all her waiting her wish had come true.

“Damn, Babes…” Beej sighed as he ran a hand through his green gravity defying hair. “...Well, I’ll just make sure to crash the next one to make up for the last two I missed.”

A smile that curled upon her lips brought a smile to him as well. She was happy to hear that he was planning to hang around for a bit, but could she really believe him this time? He had already left once before.

“You’re planning to stick around? What about your quest? Or did that not work out already?” She asked as she put the plate and cup aside. He had said that he would tell her his depressing tale of what he had been doing while he was gone. She tried to keep the hope out of her expression that there was no longer a reason for him to leave her again.

Beetlejuice’s smile fell just as quickly as it appeared as he took in her question. It was fair though, he had promised her a story. As much as he didn’t want to tell her, she deserved to know that he hadn’t come back for a reason.

“Yeah, my quest was nothing but a shit waste of time. Parents suck ass or at least mine do. You saw my mom and what a fun house she could be but then meeting my dad was just as horrible. My dad he’s….”

Beetlejuice paused as he tried to think of how to describe it to her. Lydia had already seen the Netherworld so she could probably understand how complicated it got. “Down there they call beings like my dad ‘The Eternals’. They’re just a bunch of deadbeats with too much power, too much time on their hands, and too bored out of their minds to do any good with the power they were gifted with. They basically created everything for fun and then had no idea to do with what they created so now they just bum around for the rest of time.”

“So they’re god?” Lydia asked as she tried to imagine the figures he was describing. Beetlejuice laughed with a shake of his head.

“Hate to break it to ya, Lyds, but there ain’t no god. The Roman’s and Greeks got it right more than the Christians, but even then still it's not exactly right. Like I said they’re just beings that had fun creating all that’s around us and then got bored and threw away all interest in us like used toys. Anyway, my dad is one of them, and I made the mistake of thinking that he would know what I am. “

Beetlejuice went silent as he recalled the indifferent look his only other parent had given him. His dad said that he was worthless after what his mother had done. Letting his mother raise him and torture him for years with no love and just a longing for companionship made him just a pathetic being. A shell of what he could have been. It made him laugh now because he had been the one to call the Maitland’s hopeless, when the only one who was hopeless was him all along.

“Anyway so after that shit show, I didn’t want to stay in the Netherworld because Juno would scream at me non-stop for what happened and frankly I was done listening to it after the first two minutes.”

“Juno?” Lydia questioned in confusion. Wasn’t Juno his mother?

“Oh, right, skipped that part. My mother’s name is Shaggoth. Don’t bother asking me why she called herself Junno, I’m just settling with she did it to fuck with me. She used to leave me with Juno when she didn’t want to deal with me so maybe she used the name to manipulate the feelings I had for the old bat.

“I don’t know anymore nor do I particularly care. All I do know now is that I’m done with them and since I’m not welcomed in the Neitherworld nor the Netherworld, I’m back where I started.”

“I wouldn’t say that…” Lydia spoke up and took a chance to move a little closer to him. She sat with her legs crossed in front of her. She wanted to reach out for him but she kept her hands to herself. She had hoped to say something else but it was then she realized something, “...you didn’t have your powers when you started, right?”

“Yeah, I guess that's true.” Beetle answered as he stopped himself from bringing up his right arm to run over her calves that were now within his reach.

“Part of the banishment was that about 95 percent of my powers were on lockdown until someone said my name. Couldn’t touch any breather either.”

“‘Can’t affect the world of the living’, right? But that’s gone now, isn’t it? I just felt your hands and you didn’t let me finish your name.” Lyds clarified as if to remember that what he just did while touching her back wasn’t her imagination. She couldn’t have dreamed that just now, he had touched her and out on the roof he hadn’t let her finish the three times curse.

“Yep. I don’t know what will happen this time if you said it so I didn’t wanna risk it.” He cautiously spoke as his hand even slower came up and just gently rested upon her left shin. Her warmed skin pebbled as his iced-cold white fingers settled upon her body. “I also don’t know if it’s just you I can touch or if I can go downstairs and tickle Chuck to death or maybe even Red.”

Lydia laughed at the thought of her dad and Delia being tickled that hard. It was a nice distraction from having to focus on the feeling of him touching her once again. She then shook her head and came back to what they were talking about.

“Dad and Delia aside, do you...do you think you can touch me because of our...the marriage?”

She was hesitant to bring it up but it needed to be said. They couldn’t avoid the whale of the subject or at least she couldn’t. She needed to know where they stood in reference to their union. She wanted to learn something she had come to fear while he was gone, did her killing him make their marriage cease to exist?

His expression turned somber as she brought up the subject of their matrimony status. He stood up from the chair and paced for a minute before pausing in the middle of her shag rug. He wasn’t surprised that she was quick to follow and came to stand toe to toe with him. He turned to face her and methodically sighed as he gazed down at her big brown doe eyes.

“I thought that too, ‘cause yeah we’re still married. It’s also why I came back, I figured I should warn ya that your little stunt didn’t work and we’re still stuck together.”

“It didn’t work...we’re still married…” She repeated as if the words would register if she kept saying them. Her face didn’t give it away but somewhere deep down she was happy about that, or was that relief she was feeling?

“Yep.” He nodded as he exemplified the ‘p’ in the word. “Even tried to ask my dad if there was a way to undo it, and to put it nicely he just laughed in my face.”

Now that made her freeze. The confession slammed into her as if he had reached out and physically hit her. It was one thing to learn that killing him hadn’t terminated their bond but to learn that he had tried to break it too. Her breath quietly caught in her throat as she realized it hurt to know that. To know that he maybe didn’t want to be stuck with her or that he had the confidence to think that had been what she wanted.

“I…” She cleared her throat before bringing her hands back over her chest, as if she could hug away the small ache in her heart. “...I get it. This marriage didn’t get you what you wanted so it makes sense.”

“What?”

“I’m just saying I get it. The reasons we both did it didn’t work out as we both planned so there's no reason for us to stay together. You’d think those “eternals” as you called them would learn to be a little more opened minded to the idea of a div-”

“Babes, I didn’t ask because I didn’t get what I wanted. I asked because-” He stopped and looked away from her. Shit, he had to tell her, but he didn’t know how. She had to understand what was waiting for her if they decided to live a life as if they hadn’t met. He knew he couldn’t live like that but he also knew he couldn’t force her to pick him either. Then again he also didn’t want to tell her and have her just be with him just to save her own skin.

“What, Beej? Why-” Lydia asked as she tried to get him to look back at her but they both jumped as suddenly someone was knocking at her bedroom door.

“Lydia! Lydia, are you up?” Delia. It was Delia. Lydia quickly ran over to her door forcing her weight upon it and taking the knob in her hand to make sure that her step-mother didn’t come into the room.

“Yes...yeah I’m up, Delia.”

“Oh good, breakfast is almost ready, are you coming down?”

“Oh um…” Lydia wracked her brain quickly for some excuse so that she could spend just a few more minutes with the demon so they could at least figure out where he could hide. “I actually...wanted to take a shower this morning so I’ll be down afterwards…?”

“That’s fine, hun.” Delia was the only one who knew she had started sleeping out on the roof so it made sense that Lydia would want to wash up after being outside all night. “We’ll keep a plate warm for you, but do come down as soon as you can, your father and I wanted to talk to you. Oh, and it’s laundry day so make sure to bring yours down, don’t just leave your clothes in your bathroom!”

“Okay…” Lydia called out trying to sound as nonchalant as she could. Even though she knew her parents couldn’t want to be talking to her about Beetlejuice, since they didn’t know that he was back in the house. If they had known they would have already confronted her about it, but she couldn’t help but be a little scared about whatever it is they did have to say.

She didn’t get a further chance to think about that subject as a weight was suddenly pressing into her back and trapping her whole body against the door. Beetlejuice had come up behind her and was now caging her within his arms. One of his hands rested on her hip while the other was above her against the wooden entrance to her room as if to keep it forever closed.

The air in her lungs froze as she felt him fully lean against her. This was the closest he had ever been to her and for just a brief moment fear rolled over her in a wave. She repeated to herself that he wasn’t going to hurt her, he had no reason to even though he had all the power in the world to do so. She had to remember that even though he was a friend he was also a very powerful force of nature and that right now she was at his mercy.

Beetlejuice knew if he had a heart it would have been pounding but he could feel hers so he figured that would do. They were both scared for different reasons but he couldn’t let that fear stop him now. Just as he couldn’t let her leave this room without saying what he was about to say.

“Lydia…” He hid his face in her black hair so that he would miss her surprised expression. It was rare that he didn’t call her a pet name but this wasn’t the time for one. He didn’t want her thinking that he wasn’t being serious right now. He breathed in her scent letting it envelope him before he continued.

“Forget what I said, alright. It doesn’t matter right now, but you gotta know something. You need to know that I didn’t...that I...I came back for a reason.”

His tongue felt heavy as he tried to find the words. It was the hardest to find the right words. If he said the wrong thing she may think that he was trying to play with her feelings. Conning her into another situation where he held all the aces. Well, not this time. This time he had the worst hand but he still had to speak or he would lose her all over again.

“Okay…” Lydia whispered as she tried to remember how to breathe. She couldn’t look at him so she just settled her forehead against the door but she hung on his every word. Words were neither of their strong suits so she knew that whatever he was going to say next meant a lot.

“...why, Beej, tell me why are you back?”

Her whole being went from cold to feeling like it was set ablaze as she felt a possessive growl emit from within his chest. He cocked his head so that his lips could press against the back of her bright red ear to utter one single word. “You.”

It was good that he was pressing her against the door because otherwise he would have seen the tears forming in her eyes. He had said it. It was out in the space between them now. She would have never thought he would be able to bring himself to say as much. She didn’t care if all the powers of the universe were playing the cruelest trick on her, her demon had just admitted he had fallen for her.

One of the most powerful ghosts or whatever he was on earth had fallen for an unseen goth girl who was the definition of strange and unusual and wrapped tightly in his arms.

Before she could bring herself to reply, he darkly chuckled and pressed his forehead into her shoulder. “Babes, please...you gotta... please tell me you understand what I’m saying here…?”

That was the thing too, it wasn’t just the single word he was admitting. It was all that came with it. This was him admitting that if here and now she accepted him, he wasn’t leaving ever again. They would fully be stuck together, even in the afterlife. He would be 100 percent committed to her just as she would have to be committed to him.

He would make sure she was always seen, heard, appreciated but he would also always be a demon. He could bring her pleasure that would be otherworldly but at the same time he would be possessive, controlling, and maybe a tad bit less of an asshole. And that was the question on the table, would she be able to live with someone like that for til the end of time if she said yes?

“...yeah….I understand…” She had nodded first not wanting to say anything, but she knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. Words needed to be spoken right now even if they were spoken with shaking breaths.

“Okay...okay, then do…” Beetlejuice paused, wary on how to continue. He wanted to be careful about his next choice of words. He was also thankful he was holding onto her because he was sure his shaking hand would be pulling at his own green hair right about now. “...what’s...what is your answer then?”

“I…” Lydia started to say as she braced her hands against her door and then words died on her tongue. She knew what she wanted to say. What he deserved to hear since he had finally admitted that he had come back to be solely with her. He had left all that he knew because he wanted to be with her. She wanted to do the same.

She knew that her answer was yes, but she didn’t want to be careless. She didn’t want to answer him too soon for if she did, he may see it as just another trick. She had tricked him with love before and she would be damned if she did it now, especially with what he had just declared. Her mind was racing and she needed time to sort everything out. Could she ask for that?

“...Twenty-four hrs. I need a day, please…” She finally whispered in a desperate plea. She knew he wanted an answer. If he could just give her some time to let this all wash over her then she was sure he would get the response that they both wanted to hear.

He had waited as patiently as he could for her answer. She wanted time. It made sense, what he had confessed was overwhelming not just to her but to him as well. This was a lot to take in and this was all on top of the fact that less than six hours ago he had just shown up again in her life. She had earned a second to take it all in.

He could play nice and wait. He was a bad guy, a monster, that could pretend to be patient. Even if at the end of the day he wouldn’t let her escape from being with him again, for now he could let her believe she had a choice in the matter. That didn’t mean he had to be nice about it. If she was going to be ridiculous and make him wait, then he was going to take something to tide him over for the time being.

“Alright, Babe, twenty-four hrs. But…” As he growled his agreement into her ear he suddenly leaned down and bit into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He didn’t let her struggle away from him as he left his mark, only to then kiss the reddening skin gently. He hugged her flush against him and took her chin in his hand tilting it so that they were looking at each once again.

“...don’t keep me waiting.” With that demand he released her before disappearing without a trace. Lydia slid down to the door to curl up on the dirty floor. Her legs held no strength to hold her up after that declaration. Her hand came up to cover where his lips had been as her heart pounded erratically.

‘...holy shit…’ Was all she could think as she took in a deep breath to return her thumping heart to a normal beat. As she tried to bring herself back to a sense of calm and her breathing under control there was a tingling under her skin that wouldn’t calm down no matter how long the seconds ticked by.

And as she sat back up a realization soared up her spine and her skin covered itself in goosebumps. She had just gotten a small dose of his libidinous feelings he held for her and right now she was craving for more.

Oh, damn Eternals help her, she wanted _more_.

~

She was happy she had said shower when she did. It gave her an excuse to put on makeup after the water was wiped from her body. She took time to apply the creams over the hickey her monster had decided to leave upon her neck. He had learned things while being trapped on earth but she knew a thing or two as well.

She had volunteered at the local theater over the summer and the makeup people had to cover up love bites every other day. She watched them enough times to know the best way cover marks like those even if no one had ever kissed her like that. Well, until now at least and she silently prayed that she would be getting more in the future.

That was if she said yes to the demon who awaited for an answer. Or if she could even say yes.

The question rattled in her brain for the rest of the day. Her dad and Delia had found a farmers market in the next time town and had been excited to get her to go with them. She was happy to go as well as it gave her a new space to think.

But it didn’t work out.

She had been happy to wander the stalls when they first arrived even finding a booth in the back that sold antique cameras. But not even being there a few hours, Delia could see how forlorn her step daughter was. She was like a zombie, barely following them and unresponsive most of the time. She had to be thinking about something important and something that was deeply troubling her.

The drive home had been a quiet affair and Lydia apologized that she ruined their day. Even when they told her not to worry about it and they understood they could see that whatever was worrying Lydia settling over her again. The youngest Deetz stayed down in the basement for the rest of the day pacing around her dark room.

She did come up for dinner, especially since Barbara begged her to eat something. She was quiet through the whole meal and felt even worse because she felt like she could barely hold anything down. Lydia was thankful they didn’t say anything else as she returned to her darkroom. That was until there was a knock and Delia poked her head in.

“If you don’t wanna talk, say so now or forever hold your peace.” Delia smiled gently as she hovered in the doorway waiting to enter Lydia’s sacred space.

The four parents had talked about which one should finally go to Lydia to talk about what was going on today. And though Barbara wanted to be the one, the others thought she would be best since she was the most motherly, Delia said she would do it. It had surprised them all, but she didn’t leave it up for further discussion. She had an idea why her step-daughter was so distraught and knew if Lydia would want anyone to talk about it, it would be best if it was said to her.

Lydia sighed as she thought about it. She wasn’t getting anywhere thinking about this alone. She was scared to bring this up to any of her four parental figures, but she couldn’t keep doing this by herself. The hours were ticking away, she didn’t have much longer to make a choice.

She nodded and watched as Delia quickly came into the room sitting down upon the couch that was in the room. Delia had made sure to lock the door behind her so that it was just the two of them. She left room on the couch so that Lydia could sit beside her but the girl dressed in black continued to pace before her.

“Lydia…” Delia asked gently as she suddenly noticed that tears were rolling down the young women’s cheeks. “…please…talk to me…what’s wrong, hun?”

Lydia sobbed as she stopped her striding and stood in front of Delia. Her shaking hands ran constantly through her black hair because she didn’t know what to do with her hands. She didn’t know what to do. How was she supposed to pick between Beetlejuice and her family? And even if he wasn’t making her choose an ultimatum like that, that she could stay here with the people that cared for her, how could they all live in the same house? Her family hated Beetlejuice and they would want her to leave him. What was she supposed to do?

“I…” Lydia wept as she brought up her hand to wipe away the tears yet more just fell in their place. “…I just don’t know what…to do…”

Delia’s heart broke for the crying girl in front of her. She quickly reached out and caught Lydia’s wrist before she could start pacing again. She guided Lydia to sit beside her on the couch. The goth girl slumped onto the furniture and hid her face in her hands. Delia didn’t reach out for her but she still nudged closer so that if Lydia needed to hold her she could.

There was only one thing that could be wrong. It had to be him.

“Lydia, be honest with me, is he back?” Delia asked cautiously. And when Lydia nodded as a response, she actually released a sigh of relief. Okay, so that made sense. The demon had finally returned for his young bride. She knew this day would eventually happen. That all powerful being wouldn’t have stayed away forever, not with how he had looked at Lydia. There had to be more to it though for Lydia to be this upset and Delia could sort of figure it out.

“Did he…did he confess to you?” Lydia nodded again, obviously not trusting to use her voice. Delia moved until she was flush up against the still crying woman and took her hand into her own. She squeezed it lovingly as she went on to ask. “Is he making you leave us?”

“No…or as far as I know, no… he didn't say he would…” Lydia finally spoke up as she removed her head from her trembling fingers. She squeezed Delia’s hand as well as she took in a deep breath. How was she supposed to explain all that happened this morning? She had to give Delia credit for figuring out that Beetle was back at least.

"Okay, then…are you upset because …because of us…? Of what we would think?” Delia sighed as she realized that could be the only other thing that could be upsetting her step-daughter.

“Yeah…” Lydia shrugged as she glanced up to the older woman besides her. “…I just don’t know what to do when it would make the others miserable to have him around after all that happened. …I want him in my life, but I care about you all as well…you’re my family and I love you guys.”

Delia hid as much as her smile as she could at Lydia’s words. When she was out of the room, she could be ecstatic that Lydia had said she was family. But for now, she needed to say something that she was sure could help the distressed women. These words had helped her in her time of need and she could hope that they would help Lydia now.

“Lydia,” Delia took Lydia’s chin in her hand so that their eyes met, “I’m going to tell you something that the Nuns told me once. It’s a lesson that helped me a lot in life and I think right now you need to hear it. ‘You need to take the upper hand in all situations, or people, whether they’re dead or alive, will walk all over you.’”

Delia chuckled as Lydia now looked at her with a cocked head and her eyes showed her confusion. “Yeah that’s what I was like when I first heard it too but let me explain. It means that since you're old enough to make your own choices, when you make those decisions stand behind them. Stick up for those decisions and hold strong to them, if you do that you will be able to stand if the face of anyone who wishes to criticize you, whether their intentions for you are good or bad.”

That was all she had to give, so with a departing kiss to Lydia’s forehead, Delia left the room. She would make sure that the others would leave Lydia alone for the night. She could only hope that come morning the house wouldn’t have one less occupant. She squeezed the crystal hanging on her neck and her eyes looked up to the ceiling. She begged whoever was listening that the demon somewhere in this house wouldn’t take Lydia away from them.

Lydia stayed on the couch for what felt like hours. Delia’s words echoed in her mind like a record that kept on repeating because it had a nick in the disk. Take the upper hand. Make a decision and when she did, stand by them. It was hard to understand fully what that even meant but as she calmed down, she could sort of get it. She had to make this decision and it had to be her choice alone.

She couldn’t let the opinions of her father or the Maitland’s sway what her decision will be. By taking the upper hand no one else could be a part of this equation that she had to solve. It was just her, Beetlejuice, and the space that hung around them, just like on the night she was going to impale herself on a birdbath. He had made himself perfectly clear. He had come back for her. Beetlejuice had come back to be with her alone, and to share the rest of time by her side. So it was up to her now to answer the big question on the table, what did she want her decision to be. What was her answer for the demon who was waiting on the roof?

She knew the answer. She knew that the solution was already made and that she had made her choice. She had hoped that he loved her in whatever way he could. It was what she wanted because it’s how she felt. She loved him and up til today she had feared that he would never return. She would never get a chance to tell him that he now and forever more had a place within her body, soul, and mind.

She had asked for time but she had everything now so there was no reason to waste another second. To hell with all of the obstacles in their way, they didn’t matter anymore. Screw the laws of nature that would say them together was wrong, she wanted to explore every sin in this world and the next with only one person by her side. No one nor nothing was going to keep her from letting Beetlejuice know her answer any longer.

She quickly left the basement happy to see that the other residents of the house had all retired for the night. She was still careful on the squeaky stairs as she made her trek to the roof. She took a second to change from her clothes to a black silk pajama set of a top and bottoms. Even with how quickly she changed she was even quicker to move over to the window once she was in the more comfortable clothing. She didn’t want to keep Beetlejuice waiting any longer.

Beetlejuice had waited all day out on the roof. It was the only place that was safe. Lydia would know to look for him here but with him in this spot the other occupants of the house wouldn’t be looking for him. His thoughts raced through every scenario as the hours passed. The good ones and the bad ones. Ones where she would say no, reject him, and he would latch onto her before whisking them both to his Neitherworld home. He couldn’t keep her there forever but long enough until he could figure out where they could go in the land of the living. She would hate him, but she wouldn’t be able to escape him. He would carve himself into her body so that no one else could touch her. He could live with her hating him if it meant that she was besides him.

Those thoughts were along the line of worst situations, but the good ones didn’t either help his heart, that even though dead, felt like it was racing. If she said yes, if she accepted him, what then? Sex was something he was quite confident in but this would require more than just how good he was between her bed sheets. What was he supposed to do? He wracked his brain for ways he could make cash so he could support her, but would that be what she wanted? Would she agree to be a housewife?

He made himself laugh because that was a big fat no. He knew that she would never settle for being a boring normal housewife that had dinner on the table by seven pm. His strange and unusual wife would sooner die than agree to that kind of life. Not that he would let her take her life anytime soon. She would live longer than any average joe if he had any say in the matter.

He was getting ahead of himself. He knew he was thinking such things because his patience was wearing thin, but he took a figurative breath and ran a hand through his hair. He just had to wait; wait for her. Once she had given him an answer then he would worry about what was to come next. It was then he heard the window.

He remained still as he pictured the window open up behind him and a body climb up onto the roof. Lydia took the time to close the window behind her then turned to see where her husband was standing. He was right at the edge, right where she had been that time ago when they first met. As he turned around and his golden eyes settled upon her, all thought melted from her. All that remained within her mind was her answer.

Words wouldn’t do. Words are what they had used to hurt each other before. Lies and truths were tricky between them and so words would barely work right now.

‘Take the upper hand. Take the upper hand!’

With Delia’s words repeating within her she crossed the space between them. She stood flush against him and took his lapels into her unsteady hands. She took a moment to hate how much taller he was than her before quickly tugging him down and letting their lips meet in a kiss.

Beetlejuice went frozen in surprise for a second before his hands moved to cover her hips and pull her closer. He didn’t think Lydia would show him her answer but here she was in his arms. She was against him pressing her tongue against his own and her hands had moved from his jacket to scrape at the hairs on the base of his neck.

This was her saying yes, right? She was finally his, yes? He begged to anyone who was listening that this wasn’t her rejecting him.

“I love you…” She gasped as she pulled back from him as much as he would allow her too. She had to say it. Even if there was a chance, he wouldn’t believe her words, she had to make him understand. She was giving her life to him. Her fate was now forever tied to him after the kiss they had shared.

“You are the evilest con artist, a sleazy pervert and a monstruous demon, but you’re my demon, and I love you, Beetlejuice.”

He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he pounced upon her once he registered what she just said. He heard all he needed. Lydia Deetz loved him, loves him. His heaven, his Lydia Deetz, was in love with him. He couldn’t believe it, but she had said it. He didn’t just dream this. Lydia was in love with him and was now forever his.

Spiritual powers help whoever tried to take his wife from him now because hell would look like a fun house when he was through with them.

There were going to be things in their way. The Maitland’s, her father, civilization in general, but damn them all. They weren’t going to keep Lydia from him now. He had her answer and now she was eternally his ‘til the end of time.

He suddenly pulled away so that she could breath. He had picked her up and had her up against the house in his arms as they had been ravaging each other’s mouths. He was following her example and letting his actions speak louder than words. He was using his black magic to keep her up against the shingles behind them so that his hands could roam all over her body. Her own hands had trailed where ever she could reach, going from his hair to his shoulders before going back.

With a snap, he made the cream on her neck disappear so that he could kiss the bruised skin and bit the mark once again. His body shivered at her surprised gasp. Satan below he had missed her. He wanted to seal their marriage finally. He wanted to do so many things but there was one main thing he had to do before they went a step further. He cupped her face in both of his hands and caught her eyes with his own.

“I love you, Babes. I love you, Lydia Deetz. I am in love with you, Satan help me, I love you.” He was repeating it like a prayer, saying it over and over again. Assuring she heard him, understood him, believed him. He would say it every day they were together from now on if he had to.

“You are a merciless little brat, the most sadistic gothic breather I’ve ever seen, and you are my wife. Do you hear me, Lydia? You are mine and I love you, Babes.” He leaned back where he had been and trailed kisses along her throat leaving teeth marks and goosebumps in his wake.

He loved her. He was in love with her and able to say it just as she had. Lydia was sure if she died right in this moment all would be alright with the world. Because Beetlejuice was standing with her in his arms and loved her. They were made for each other. Nothing was going to separate them now. They were bound together to never be parted ever again.

Lydia’s cheeks were now covered in tears and her hands were clutched tightly to his green gravity defining mane. Little sounds of pleasure were released from her as she panted from his ministrations, her body blazing from the tingling sensation of his lips on her skin. She barely heard her own sounds because she was sure her heart was beating hard enough to be heard from the moon. Her thoughts and feelings were in broken pieces and were going to completely overwhelm her if he pulled away from her again.

Those broken thoughts suddenly didn’t matter as Beetlejuice’s hands slid under her sleep shirt. His chilled fingers slid up her body before settling upon her bra, the same one that he had seen so many hours ago. She knew he wanted to rip it to shreds and frankly she wanted that too, but he had paused so to gaze up at her.

“Tell me you want this Babes,” He whispered as he kissed her again. “Tell me that you want me to devour you as much as I’ve wanted to since the first time I saw you upon this very roof with that suicide note in your hands. Tell me that I can finally make you mine and mine alone, but know if you say yes that there will never be an escape, we can never go back to what was, and I won’t share you with anyone.”

She only hesitated since she had to take a second to press her lips to his ear before she hissed out her single response. “Yes.”

The next thing Lydia knew was that her back was against a soft mattress and her husband was looming over her. She lost all sense of time and reality as the demon from hell made love to her. The demon who had completely changed her world. The monster who had fallen in love with her and was now carving his initials upon her very soul. Her heart threatened to give out as their consummation felt like it lasted for days upon end, though in actuality it was only hours. She didn’t care. He could kill her in this intense setting of a dead groom bringing his living bride pleasure she didn’t know was possible.

Beetlejuice didn’t know such feelings could even exist for a creature like him. A creature born of brimstone, sin and hellfire had managed to grab his own slice of heaven. All within the body of Lydia Deetz. She was created to be his alone, but nowhere was it written that she had to like it. But she did like it, she loved it. She loved him. He was the luckiest son of a b-tch in the combined world of the living and undead to have found this woman and fall in love with her. His cursed petite bride, his beautiful wife for now ‘til time ceased to exist. As the final wave of sinful satisfaction settled over the two of them, he made sure to keep her door from opening to any unwanted visitors. He then curled her up in his white skinned arms and they both fell into a dreamless abyss.

~

As a morning storm rolled over White River and sheets of rain poured outside the windows, Beetlejuice’s eyes opened and a smile curled his blackened lips. Oh yeah, he could definitely get used to waking up to this sight for the rest of his existence. Lydia was tucked securely against him sleeping the most peacefully she had in under a year. As much as he loved gazing at the endless miles of pale skin with a quick blink his magic covered her in her black plaid pajamas to ward off the room's chill. Just because he couldn’t freeze to death didn’t mean he had to let his wife suffer the same.

He pulled her closer to him, curling around his living bride as he placed a kiss upon her temple. Lydia stirred at the feeling of his lips and not long after did her eyes open as well.

“Good morning.” She happily yawned as she soaked in as much of his chilled embrace as she could. Him being a being of deathly cold countered the warm sheets that now enveloped her. Wait a minute…sheets, she was in her bed.

With unexpected speed and force Lydia suddenly shot up and a fear penetrated her bones. Even though the act had been a surprise, Beetlejuice was quick to respond. His hands latched around his shaking wife keeping her from falling off the bed.

“Whoa, Babes…” He exclaimed as she struggled in his grip before he gently cupped her check to force her to look at him. “Lydia, easy. Babes, what’s wrong?”

Lydia was still trying to breath as her mind tried to catch up with what was currently happening. She had woken up in the arms of her husband not from the thorns of a deep night terror. This was the first night in a long time that she had accomplished a dreamless sleep. An exhaustion was falling over her, but it was finally not a tired from getting no sleep. It was only the tired of being pleasantly sated. She at last took in a deep cleansing breath as she focused on Beetlejuice’s voice.

“Babes, look at me…” He gently demanded and was relieved as her frightened eyes turned to him.

“Good, girl…” He praised as he leaned forward settling kisses along her eyes, cheeks and forehead until her erratic breath calmed and returned to a steady exhale. Their eyes met as he eased away but didn’t let her out of his grasp.

“Talk to me.”

“I…After you left, I had nightmares…” Lydia confessed as she brought her hands up and clutched onto his own before moving his palm to place a kiss within it. “…No…they were worse…they were night terrors…I don’t know anymore…Every time, I slept here I would see you dead at my feet. Your mom would kill you in front of me and I…I wasn’t able to stop it. I had to watch you die every night! I couldn’t do it anymore…that’s why I slept outside…They weren’t as bad when I’m out there. I haven’t…I haven’t been in this bed for at least six months. So…just now when I felt the sheets, I…I got scared. I’m sorr-“

“Don’t you dare apologize.” Beetlejuice quickly ordered before the word could finish falling from his lover’s warm lips. Lips that he leaned down and kissed lovingly as if he could chase away any fear that lingered within her. Once he backed away so that she could take in more deep breaths to calm down he nuzzled his forehead against her own.

“If anyone is apologizing it’s me. I’m sorry I left you alone to deal with all that, Babes. I’m here now. I’m not leaving you ever again so if the nightmares wanna get ya, they have to go through me. Which, I can promise ya, ain’t going to happen, alright?” He tenderly assured her, smiling as he felt her nod as a response.

He had made a promise that nothing from the Netherworld was allowed to touch her, and whether it was within her mind or not he was going to keep that promise. With him now back the nightmares would leave her eventually, and the frightening thoughts would be turned into nothing more than distant non-alarming memories.

“Come here…” He whispered and they fell back against the sheets and curled around one another. Lydia sighed out in relief as this time fear of her own furniture didn’t shroud her once she was settled. She tucked herself flush against her lover’s icy skin hoping to maybe fall back asleep.

She was just about to fall into a blissful numbness when she suddenly felt something slid onto her ring finger followed by Beetlejuice’s lips against her knuckle. She looked down and saw red. A silver ring, the band that had a mess of lines to resemble a spider’s web and upon the center a slim spider made of two stones. The head was made of a twinkling diamond and the body was the reddest ruby she had ever seen. It was beautiful. She quickly looked over and smiled as she saw the matching band upon his own hand.

She held her ring hand protectively over her heart and gazed up into her lover’s hauntingly attractive eyes. She leaned up and kissed him which he returned in kind as he pressed a hand along her neck before curling his fingers in her inky hair. He brought his other hand back around her waist, pulling her even closer, contented by it just being him and his beautiful wife in their own little world of sheets and pillows.

“I love you.” He heard her mutter into his neck as Lydia’s arms hugged him as if afraid that he would disappear under her fingers. She had nothing to fear, for he was right where he belonged.

“I love ya too, Babes.” He replied while placing another kiss between her brows. He was sure in a few hours they would be downstairs dealing with the disapproving parentals, telling all four of them to f-ck off because they were now stuck with him whether they liked it or not. But he didn’t want to think about that right now, dealing with that was for another time.

Right now, Beetlejuice squeezed Lydia lovingly and breathed in her toasted marshmallow scent. As he fell back into the dead’s hazy state of sleep to the sounds of his wife’s gentle inhale of breath, he knew whatever happened next, they could face together. They were a couple of unseen strange and unusual beings who found love in one another and would tear through the world in this life and the next.

Just as they always would, could, and should.

~End~

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you have enjoyed! I'd love to hear what you all have to say.  
> If you didn't get why Juno's name was written as such it's because I wanted to emphasize that they are two different characters.  
> The red dressed one from the Musical aka Eileen Shoggoth, I changed her name a bit more just to make it a tad different, and then the White dressed one from the Movie, the real Juno. Again the idea came completely from LadyStrangeandUnusual! I had originally used the name Lady used and I realized that wasn't right to do, so a change was in order.  
> And yes Doctor Picani is from Sanders Sides if you all were curious!  
> Thank you all for reading and Happy Halloween!


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